Gen. Beau Knows: Gwinnett Groundhog Expects an Early Spring

As quickly as he darted out of his plantation-style house at the Yellow River Game Ranch in Lilburn, you'd like to think General Beauregard Lee didn't have enough time to tell whether or not there was a shadow.

But apparently, "Georgia's Official Weather Prognosticator" did not see his shadow during his annual Groundhog Day appearance Thursday morning.

"It's 7:35 [a.m.] and 40 degrees. No shadow means an early spring," was announced as at least a couple hundred spectators — many chanting and making noise to entice the groundhog out of the house — looked on.

Gen. Lee darted out in a blur, then hid underneath shrubs inside his fenced-in area as game ranch employes chased him out in the open for spectators to see.

After scooting back and forth between shrubs in an amusing game of chase with workers, Beau finally settled in front of his house before the crowd thinned out.

Event organizers say Beau is seldom wrong with his predictions, although his groundhog counterpart, Punxsutawney Phil in Gobbler's Knob, Pa., didn't agree Thursday. Phil did see his shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter.